Just Watched

Typhoon hits where not expected

But its toll would still remain far below that of Tropical Storm Thelma, the country's most lethal storm on record that left more than 5,000 people dead in 1991.

The worst of the death and destruction from Bopha took place on the southern island of Mindanao, where the storm hit first and hardest with gusts as strong as 220 kph (138 mph).

The storm, known locally as Pablo, was the most powerful typhoon to hit Mindanao in decades. It set off flash floods and landslides that engulfed people sheltering in their rickety houses in remote, unprepared regions of the island.